Five thoughts for grief longevity
This will probably be the most unusual (and possibly, the shortest) blog that I will ever write. And for the record… I am certainly calling myself out here. The struggle is real.
Longevity is exhausting.
In a complicated way, it is also simple.
Five things.
Trust Him.
Trust His Word.
Hope in Him alone.
Worship Him.
Wait for Him.
Psalm 45:13b (NIV)
The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does.
John 1:1 (NASB)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
MIcah 7:7 (NIV)
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior, my God will hear me.
Romans 12:12 (ESV)
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Psalm 119:114 (NASB)
You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your Word.
Those five things to take the high road… the right path. No matter what we face in our day. No matter the weight that bogs us down. No matter the despair in living. No matter if it feels like our prayers are in a bouncy house. No matter the feelings we feel. No matter the words or thoughts we hear. No matter the disappointment that life wasn't supposed to be this way. No matter the depth of ache. No matter the struggle for breath.
Trust Him.
Trust His Word.
Hope in Him alone.
Worship Him.
Wait for Him.
No matter if we are lost in the wilderness hiding under a broom tree and longing to die. (Elijah: I Kings 19:4) No matter our weariness and exhaustion. No matter the lack of motivation. No matter the longing to retreat. No matter how alone and abandoned we feel. No matter the hopelessness that even Abraham against ALL hope, in hope believed. (Romans 4:18) No matter the lack of understanding. No matter the repeated questions and playbacks. No matter the lack of control and the impossibility of turning back time. No matter the spiritual, emotional, and physical depletion. No matter the tears and longings and anguish.
Longevity IS exhausting.
The road is of considerable length.
But God.
He is boundless. Timeless. Limitless.
And He has an expansive amount of love for us.
Trust Him.
Trust His Word.
Hope in Him alone.
Worship Him.
Wait for Him.
His Promise
I Peter 5:10 (NASB) (Emphasis mine)
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of ALL grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
His “little while” is beyond our understanding. My "little while" tends to look a whole lot different. Like Picasso different.
But.
He will do it.
Perfect: "To bring to final form; to make perfect: improve, refine."
Confirm: "Give approval; to make firmer; remove doubt by an authoritative act."
Strengthen: "To make stronger; to become stronger."
Establish: "To institute permanently; to make firm or stable; to cause to grow; to put into a favorable position." -Paraphrased from Merriam Webster
He promised.
Get Up!
Further into I Kings 19, we find the Lord loving on and strengthening Elijah…
“Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.”
The broom tree is God's provision and twice, God sent His angel to care for exhausted and depressed Elijah… to sustain him with food and water… to bring rest in the shade of this beautiful life-sustaining tree… basic nutrients. Without these vital nutrients, He knew that the journey would be too much for Elijah. God knows our journey is far too much of an albatross burden to walk alone without His sustenance.
“So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights…”
Forty days and forty nights… the strength of the food is trust in Him and His Word to provide. It is the hope of strength for the next forty days and nights. And the next… and the next... and so on. Repeat. It is the rejoicing in Who He is and the prayer of knowing Him exponentially deeper than we knew our soul mate. It is waiting for Him to bring sustenance to our needs in the exhaustion of longevity. God was near in Elijah’s suffering and depression… and He is divinely present in our own heartache, distress and longing.
II Corinthians 4:16-18
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
I cannot even begin to process my loss as a "momentary, light affliction" no matter how hard I try. What I see is that it is not momentary. And it is not a light affliction either... Isaiah 55:8 reminds me...
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
My eyes are riddled with squiggles and blind spots on this never-ending journey, but they continue to longingly search in the pitch black dark for what is not seen. By His Word and hope against all hope I can visualize a crack of light... a break of day that will draw nigh and burst forth into abundant Light.
Forty days and forty nights of strength… to the infinity power…
Trust Him.
Trust His Word.
Hope in Him alone.
Worship Him.
Wait for Him.
Take a listen to this song.... it has greatly soothed my heart and soul...
I Will Wait for You (Psalm 130) by Shane & Shane
“Out of the depths I cry to You.
In darkest places I will call
Incline Your ear to me anew
And hear my cry for mercy Lord
Were You to count my sinful ways
How could I come before Your throne
Yet full forgiveness meets my gaze
I stand redeemed by grace alone
Yeah, I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your Word I will rely
And I will wait for You, surely wait for You
‘Til my soul is satisfied
So put Your hope in God alone
Take courage in His power to save
Completely and forever won
By Christ emerging from the grave
I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your Word I will rely
And I will wait for You, surely wait for You
‘Til my soul is satisfied
Now He has come to make a way
And God Himself has paid the price
That all who trust in Him today
Find healing in His sacrifice
That all who trust in Him today
Find healing in His sacrifice
I will wait for You, I will wait for You
Through the storm and through the night
I will wait for you, surely wait for You
For Your love is my delight
I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your Word I will rely
And I will wait for You, surely wait for You
‘Til my soul is satisfied”
TRAILBLAZING:
Read and listen to the entirety of Psalm 130 & Psalm 34 on your Bible app… beautiful, beautiful Psalms… aren’t they all? Repeat.
Walk the High Five… and pour your heart… your deepest long-lasting despair and heartbreak out to the Lord. He will strengthen you. For an interminable… ceaseless… unending amount of days and nights.
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